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Presidential race could energize voters with disabilities

Karina Shedrofsky
USA TODAY
Denise McQuade, 64, of Brooklyn, N.Y., poses in the cafe of her office in Queens, NY in 2012. After she had trouble voting in 2010 because her polling place wasn't handicapped accessible, she became part of a federal lawsuit against the New York City Board of Elections. A judge ruled Wednesday that the city had to better accommodate disabled voters.

An increased focus on disabilities in this year's presidential campaign could boost turnout by Americans with disabilities — a potentially enormous but traditionally low-turnout voting bloc — according to experts familiar with the community's voting patterns.

Americans with disabilities — including hearing, cognitive and physical impairments — make up nearly 16% of eligible voters, but have been less likely than the general population to vote in past elections. In the 2014 midterm election, 58% of voters with self-reported disabilities voted compared to 63% without disabilities, according to the Pew Research Center.

But a Pew study released earlier this month found that people with disabilities are more likely than those without disabilities to report “being particularly engaged with this election” and to say they are following the campaign “very closely" this year.

The study reported 71% of Americans with disabilities — many of them seniors — said it “really matters who wins the election,” compared with 59% of Americans who do not have a disability.

Disability issues came into the campaign spotlight in 2015 after Donald Trump faced heavy criticism for mocking a disabled New York Times reporter.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has also increased its focus on engaging with disabled voters. Last week in Orlando she outlined a plan to create more job opportunities for Americans with disabilities, who make up 20% of the population.

“Whether they can participate in our economy and lead rich, full lives that are as healthy and productive as possible is a reflection on us as a country,” she said.

At both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, blind singers with cerebral palsy opened a night with the singing of the national anthem.

Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations Professor Lisa Schur said people with disabilities are no more likely to be affiliated with either party, but do tend to be especially interested in increased job opportunities and improved health care.

She says “if Clinton’s message resonates,” it might influence disabled Americans to turn out and vote.

Norman Ornstein, political scientist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, says people with disabilities will pay less attention to an election if the candidates don't address the topics they find most important, or if there isn’t “a sharp difference between the two in how they will address them.”

Zach Baldwin, director of outreach at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), says disability is being talked about more by the candidates and the disability community is feeling "there's a lot at stake in this election."

"People are more engaged in this election and that will translate to more people casting a vote this year," Baldwin said.

Even if people with disabilities are more motivated to vote, barriers at polling places still exist.

In a previously released study, Schur found that 30% of voters with disabilities reported problems casting a ballot in the 2012 election.

The most common obstacles were reading or seeing the ballot, understanding how to vote or use voting equipment, waiting in line and finding or getting to the polling place, according to the study.

“The more difficult you make it to vote, the more people will be discouraged from turning out,” Ornstein said.

Schur believes such barriers could also ignite disabled communities, family, friends and service members to put in a greater effort to get people to the polls.

AAPD launched a national campaign this summer to promote accessibility of voting technology and polling places and to help people with disabilities get registered and committed to vote on election day.

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